


On and up and back down again

by cecilantro



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 09:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14829906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecilantro/pseuds/cecilantro
Summary: “What’s wrong?”“I don’t want this to change.”





	On and up and back down again

Looking up at Molly though his laughter, and haloed by the tiefling’s long hair now that it’s free from its bindings, Caleb decides that this encompasses all the things he wanted, before his life became about nothing but his mistakes. Molly, propped up on his arms and hovering above him, gives him everything. The attention, the affection, the comfort, when something is wrong, Molly is there. When Caleb is right and stands alone, Molly steps up beside him.   
They’ve been here for a while, they’re slowly getting more comfortable with one another as they skirt the edges of the  _ too far _ for the friendship.    
Fjord’s boundaries are easier, he’s more straightforward than Mollymauk and Caleb’s back-and-forth with him is hashed out firmly- Fjord doesn’t mind Caleb leaning or lying on him, or grabbing him in a pinch as long as everyone involved has their clothes on and flirtations are kept down. Otherwise, he’s pretty affectionate, in his own way- never hugs or kisses or holding the way that Molly does, but putting his weight on others, a hand on their shoulder, they’re all trust from Fjord.   
Molly is completely the polar opposite.   
His arms buckle and he flumps to Caleb’s chest with an  _ oof _ , still laughing, and Caleb tips his head back over the edge of the bed to choke off his own laughter, held up only by Molly’s weight on his lower body.   
“Are you okay, Molly?” He manages to ask, once their laughter dies down and he straightens himself a little to be able to talk. Molly’s head is propped on Caleb’s chest, against the soft wool of his shirt, and he gives a bouncing hum of affirmation.   
“You want to sit up there? Doesn’t seem comfortable.”   
Caleb does. His neck hurts holding it up, and it hurts letting it fall back, but Molly is lying  _ on _ him and seems so comfortable.   
“I would like to  _ turn _ , so that my neck does not crack.” And gives Molly a smile, almost whines when Molly huffs a breath and picks himself up, off of Caleb’s chest, and sits back so that Caleb can scramble back onto his bed and lie his head back on the pillows.   
Ah, the soft down- so wonderful after hurting so bad.   
Caleb settles and stretches and there’s a pause as he looks at Molly expectantly.   
Molly swings himself back over to hover above Caleb again, finds fingers running through the tight waves of his hair as it falls around them both. Caleb catches a hint of a smile, a soft one, warm and affectionate.   
Molly drops back down to lie on Caleb, forcing the air out of the wizard and apologising quickly afterwards, Caleb hushes him by pushing his hands into Molly’s hair and wrapping, lightly, around the back of his head.   
It works like a charm, actually, Molly stops talking immediately, pushes into Caleb’s touch and finds a chuckle bubbling up from under him.   
“Can we stay here?” Caleb asks, and shocks even himself with the soft, vulnerable tone of his voice, “Like this?”   
“Of course, Caleb, I’m pretty comfortable, I’m not going anywhere.”   
“I don’t-” Caleb finds himself choking up on tears, and Molly turns quickly, so that he can see Caleb’s face, rests his chin on Caleb’s chest as he reaches up to brush tears away.   
“What’s wrong?”   
“I don’t want this to change.” Caleb manages to choke out, “I don’t want  _ any _ of this to change. This is - this is perfect. Mollymauk, I- I-” Words escape him, he grasps for them like he would a rope as he falls, and Molly carefully clamps his hand across Caleb’s mouth.   
“Darling.” He starts, firm, but loving, “You know that you don’t have to try and tell me how you feel, right? I’m not a fool.”   
Tears spring to Caleb’s eyes, Molly feels his breathing hitch and deepen as he fights them.   
He wriggles further up Caleb’s chest, knocks the top of his head to Caleb’s chin as he pulls his hand away.   
“I  _ understand _ feelings and emotions. It was my whole  _ thing _ in the carnival, remember! All I need from you is your boundaries.”   
He lifts up, watches Caleb trace him with his eyes as he hovers over him again, and they’re back to the world being just  _ Molly and Caleb _ .   
“All I need is your permission.”   
He needs no explanation on for what, as he drops closer, keeps his eyes firmly on Caleb’s as he does so.   
“Yes? No? Later?” Molly suggests, when Caleb’s only reaction is to breath a fraction harder. Caleb blinks, eyes wide, and croaks,   
“Please.”   
And so Molly kisses him. His weight falls back down and Caleb’s hands find themselves balling in the shirt at his hips, and Molly kisses him. And he kisses Molly, too, he expects himself to be harsh and desperate but he isn’t. He’s soft. Like gold, like the way that light reflects on pure gold, less shiny and more warmth.

 

When Nott comes up to bed that night, Molly and Caleb are asleep. Molly is sprawled completely over Caleb, and she steps in with a bubbling concerned shout in her throat before she spots Caleb’s arms, pulled up and wound around Molly. There’s a waterfall of dark hair over the side of the bed, Molly’s head tucked into the hollow space between Caleb’s shoulder and head, he looks so peaceful. And, when she stands on her tiptoes for a clear look at Caleb, so does he. It’s been a while, a long, long while, since she last saw him so calm and happy and she’s content to leave them there, like that, she’ll fend off the others in the morning.   
So she crawls up and into her own bed. And falls away.

And is woken by Fjord the next morning as he sits, heavily, on the end of her bed. Staring over at Caleb’s bed.   
Over the night, Molly and Caleb have shifted a little, still entwined but side-by-side, now, Caleb pulled in to Molly’s chest.   
“Oh.” Is the first thing Nott says as the pieces fall into place in her sleepy, sleepy brain. “Fjord? Are you okay?”   
She crawls over the bed toward him, close enough that she can set her hand on his arm and shock him out of whatever reverie he’s found himself in, he turns and hums,   
“Sorry?”   
“I asked if you were okay.” Nott smiles, but it’s mostly made of concern, Fjord smiles back with the same sickly overtone.   
“Yeah, ‘m fine, Nott, don’t worry.”   
“Something’s wrong. I’m not just here for Caleb, you know? We’re friends too.” Nott presses, gently, “If you’re not ready to talk, that’s… fine. I’m here-”   
“Nott.” Fjord interrupts monotonously, though there’s a small, genuine smile to his face, “Y’ don’t gotta be so sweet an’ supportive  _ all the time _ . I’m just…” He trails off as he thinks, his eyes drawn back to Caleb and Molly. Caleb stirs, briefly in the silence, and there’s the faint sound of a kiss being pressed to Molly’s chest before he stills again, and Nott smiles sadly at the wince.   
“Jealous.” She finishes his sentence, tone nothing but soft and everything but judgemental. Fjord’s eyes flick to her, very briefly, and he smiles.   
“Yeah. That.”   
“You know they both think you’re handsome?” She tries as a placation, and Fjord sighs lightly,   
“So they keep sayin’. Be nice if I could believe it.”   
“Caleb!” Nott calls, the gentle, sing-song of their calmer wake-ups, and watches him gasp in air and jerk a little as he wakes, not panicked, just shocked. Fjord hisses and curses at her and tries to scramble up to leave, but he isn’t fast enough- Caleb turns over with a frown, but it disappears as he catches sight of Fjord. He wobbles Molly with the arm still over the top of him, turns back, briefly,   
“We have company.”   
Molly begins to wake up, too, and Caleb struggles to sit up, gestures at Fjord and Nott to come and sit with them, which Fjord seems to shy away from. Nott, however, won’t accept it- she takes Fjord by the hand and pulls him over, pushes him to climb onto the bed first and sit up against the wall, and they sit, in calm conversation.   
Caleb looks between the three of them as they laugh at something Nott has said.   
Nothing could stay the same forever, but perhaps better things could be found.   
He’s certainly done a good job here.


End file.
